Tokyo Love (19 page)

Yuriko looked back to Ai. “I'm not sure what you think I can do.”

Ai grinned. “Obviously, together you and I can lift her back into bed.”

Yuriko sighed. “All right, I'll take the legs, you take the head.”

Ai knelt down next to Kathleen. “Dear, we are going to carry you now, okay? Just try to stay still.”

Kathleen blinked at her, unfocused. “Wha—?”

Ai, almost too easily, put her hands under Kathleen's arms and lifted her enough that Yuriko could grab her legs. Kathleen put up a weak fight. Yuriko could tell now that her face was flushed hot and lips pale. Her eyes seemed sunken, marked by dark circles.

Kathleen looked to Yuriko. “How did you get in?”

They had made it to the bedroom and Ai plopped Kathleen into her pillows as Yuriko pushed her legs up. “Ai said you were in danger.”

Kathleen glared at Ai. “You are not allowed to safe my life.”

Ai grinned, adjusting the pillows underneath Kathleen. “Unable to accept direct order. In violation of sub-routine—”

“Shut up!” Kathleen rolled over, clutching her head. “You've been using that excuse all morning.”

Ai pulled the covers over her. “I just love to spoil you.”

Kathleen shrugged her off. “Go away. Both of you.”

Ai stepped back, pulling Yuriko into the main room. “She's been in a lovely mood all day. Now, I need another favor.”

Yuriko crossed her arms. “I probably shouldn't be here. Obviously she is not dying and you have more medical knowledge than me.”

Ai reached out, taking Yuriko's wrist and squeezing gently. “I can't do everything. And once her fever has broken and she isn't totally out of her mind, Kathleen will appreciate that you came too.”

Yuriko seriously doubted it.

Ai gave her an encouraging smile. “I just need you to grab me some first aid necessities, and I can't leave the apartment.”

“Since you've started breaking all your rules, can't you break this one?”

“Unfortunately, Kathleen would be too upset about me going to the convenience store by myself, for it to outweigh the benefits.” She shook her head. “No, she would be much happier to have you coming and going. Whatever drunken fumbling you two had doesn't matter. I need some medicine and food.”

Yuriko froze. “Wait, do you know—?”

Ai raised an eyebrow. “My basic programming is to observe and form conclusions based on those observations. Why do you two always forget that? Didn't you build me?”

Yuriko forced herself to breathe. She almost desperately wanted to ask Ai what Kathleen thought of it. If she had forgiven Yuriko. If she had forgotten all about it. “Is that why she is annoyed with you?”

“You think I would bluntly confront her about her confused sexuality? I am programmed to please her, you know. Not coax her into a personal crisis.” Ai sighed, a little dramatic. “Right now, Kathleen just needs to recover. Can you do her this favor and run to the convenience store for me?” She tapped on Yuriko's wrist phone and Yuriko could feel it vibrate with a new message. “I've sent you a list. Can you believe she doesn't even have a spare cold pack lying around?”

Yuriko browsed through the list. She looked up at Ai. “I'd believe it. Until a few days ago, she used to not even know how to turn on the bathtub.”

Ai tilted her head, her grin just a little too wide. “Oh really? Bathtub, huh? Is that what happened after your drinking party?”

Yuriko flushed. “It had nothing to do with that!” She quickly turned around and shoved on her shoes. She did have enough sense not to slam the door shut, but it was a near thing.

She was used to teasing people, especially Kathleen. Having her own teasing turned on her was, frankly, unnerving. She walked quickly to the
konbini
, sort of wanting to get it all over with. She picked up the cold packs and cold medicine that Ai recommended.

Yuriko hesitated in the drink aisle. Ai had asked her to grab some broth and other ingredients to make soup or porridge. Yuriko wondered if she shouldn't grab something else? Whenever work was in a crunch period, and she barely had enough time between work and home to sleep, let alone cook, she would grab some energy bottles. They were small and full of nutrients. Yuriko knew some coworkers who attributed their good health to having them at least once a day.

Yuriko grabbed a couple of the bottles that were mostly filled with some sort of fruit mush or gelatin. Then she lingered by the snacks, wondering if Kathleen would like something salty, like crackers. Or maybe some bread with red bean paste? Or maybe she would like some
onigiri
with kelp or pickled plum? Yuriko's mother was had always been of the opinion that
umeboshi
could cure any sickness.

Yuriko ended up buying a little too much, her bags bulging and hitting her legs as she walked back to the apartment. Ai was waiting at the door when she walked up the stairs. She smiled at Yuriko's bags and, luckily, she did not comment that Yuriko had probably bought enough to cure a dozen people of the common cold.

Ai took the bags into the apartment, quickly unpacking them. Yuriko took off her shoes and rubbed her hands. Her entire body ached from the day and the walk. Ai didn't seem to notice, holding out a couple pills and a bottle of water to Yuriko.

“Can you make Kathleen take these?”

“You can't?”

Ai chuckled. “If I couldn't drag her back into bed myself, I don't think I can convince her to take some medicine. Besides, she won't be expecting you. The element of surprise can be very powerful.” She said this all rather seriously.

Yuriko took the medicine and water, trying to not feel like a kid being asked to do a chore by her mother. Kathleen was her friend, awkward
drunken fumbling
and all. She wanted to keep Kathleen as a friend. She also grabbed one of the health boosting jelly drinks, just in case Kathleen was hungry.

Yuriko stepped into the room, knocking on the partially opened door. Kathleen moaned and Yuriko took it as an invitation to enter. The sun was setting now, sending bright orange rays to light up the room. It was plain, no decoration or personal objects. There were some clothes on the floor, but it wasn't very messy. Kathleen had a fan blowing on her, which helped to keep the place from feeling too stifling.

Kathleen looked over as Yuriko stepped closer. “Did Ai force you here?”

Yuriko gave a shrug and a small smile. “Desperate times, I suppose.”

Kathleen attempted to sit up, but even Yuriko could see that the motion made her turn a little green. She set aside the water and pills, picking up a trashcan that had obviously been changed recently. She moved it into reaching distance. Kathleen closed her eyes, settling against the pillows. “Sorry.”

Yuriko sat on the edge of her bed, handing her the bottle of water. “For what?”

Kathleen waved a hand. “Being pathetic.”

“You don't need to be sick to be pathetic.”

Kathleen glared, but it was halfhearted. At least she seemed a little better now, after the nap. She took the water and quickly swallowed the pills. “I'm … I'm talking about the other night … ”

Yuriko felt her stomach twist. “You don't need to apologize. In fact, I should be apologizing.”

Kathleen frowned, rubbing her damp brow. “No, no, please don't. Look, we were both drunk. And I … well, honestly I don't remember much.”

“You don't?”

“I'd really like not to remember how embarrassing I was. Okay?” She winced, lips tightening. Yuriko reached for the trash bin, but Kathleen waved her off. “Just a headache.” She peered up at Yuriko, as if it hurt to open her eyes too wide. “Can we just mutually apologize and forget about it? Please?”

Yuriko's stomach didn't untwist and her heart felt a little bit heavier. She wasn't sure what she had expected from Kathleen. In fact, she might have expected worse. That Kathleen would be disgusted by her or hate her. Maybe she should be happy that Kathleen didn't remember it well. Sometimes Yuriko felt like she had imagined it all in some drunken hallucination. It was probably for the best they move on.

She ignored the ache in her chest. “Yeah, that sounds good.”

Kathleen's lips twitched into almost a smile. Then she sank back into her pillow, closing her eyes. “You know, Medical can make this super high-tech brain scanner that can read your mind and make you a perfect match. But maybe they should put their efforts towards killing stupid colds.” She took another sip of the water and put it aside. She hadn't even drunk half of it. “Of course, their cortex scan seems lousy too.”

“That would hurt Ai's feelings.”

Kathleen snorted. “Computer programs don't get hurt feelings. They only pretend to.”

Yuriko kind of felt like her own feelings were hurt. It was ridiculous. She knew Ai looked like her and acted like her. That didn't mean she was … It was as Kathleen said, constantly, the cortex scan was wrong. Ai had been a mistake. Now maybe Yuriko had gotten her own feelings a little mixed up, because she felt like Kathleen was saying she was a mistake too.

She grabbed the jelly drink and handed it to Kathleen. “Try it, it's good for you.”

Kathleen looked at it dubiously. “Looks like a kid's juice box.” She tasted it. “Is it Jell-O?”

“For decades businessmen and women have been swearing by them. Supposed to be healthy.”

Kathleen grimaced. “Kind of tastes like grass.”

“That means it's healthy.”

Kathleen pushed it aside, lying back down. Her eyes were closing. “Japanese are crazy. It tastes bad, so that means it's healthy.” She yawned and shivered. “Ai even said she would need to tie some leeks around my neck.” She looked at Yuriko, eyes unfocused. “I think she was joking. I'm not even sure what leeks are.”

Yuriko smiled, reaching over to help pull up the covers on Kathleen's bed. “My mom used to do that to me. Don't worry; I'll keep Ai away from the leeks.”

Kathleen reached out, touching Yuriko's wrist. “Hey, thanks for coming over.” Her voice faded, eyes closed. “And for the medicine and gross jelly … ”

She was asleep. Yuriko took her hand, warm and clammy, and tucked it under the covers. Kathleen didn't even stir as Yuriko stood up, arranging the water and jelly drink to be in closer reaching distance. She pushed the trash bin next the bed and looked around the room. There were a few pieces of garbage, which she picked up and threw away. She folded the few clothes lying around and stashed them in the closet. On the shelving in the closet, she spotted a few brightly colored magazines. Impulsively, she picked one up, surprised to find it was a girls'-love
dōjinshi
.

Yuriko glanced over to confirm that Kathleen was still sleeping, then she started flipping through it. It was littered with broken English translations written on sticky notes. It was a fairly tame story, nothing too raunchy or exciting. However Yuriko was surprised to see it. Was Kathleen into manga or anime? Did she ship these two characters?

Yuriko looked at the front cover. She had read some popular manga before, but she hadn't read the one these characters came from. She had the sudden impulse to pick it up and give it a try.

Yuriko stood, taking the
dōjinshi
with her. In the kitchen, Ai was standing at the stove, watching a pot of boiling rice. She looked at Yuriko and the
dōjin
in her hand. She raised an eyebrow.

Yuriko pretended to not be affected by her look. “I saw Kathleen was practicing translation. I figured I could give her some input.”

Ai grinned. “I see.”

Yuriko ignored her and sat at the table, fishing in her purse for a pen. Kathleen, like all beginners, was a fairly literal translator. However, from the little she had done, it was a pretty good job. Yuriko just made a few notes to clarify strange phrases or vocabulary that Kathleen was obviously confused by.

She started when Ai sat next to her, pushing a bowl of
okayu
toward her. Yuriko frowned. “Shouldn't you be giving this to Kathleen?”

Ai shrugged. “She's sleeping and I needed to practice making it.” She nodded. “Come on, tell me what you think.”

Yuriko stirred it, watching the steam curl off it. “Why would you need to practice? Can't you, like, download the recipe?”

“Just because I know exactly how to make it, doesn't mean I can execute it. I'd think you'd understand that, Quality Control.”

Yuriko took a small bite. It tasted fine, not too salty, and the rice porridge was very soft. It wasn't something she'd eat unless she wasn't feeling good. “Yeah, but this is
okayu
, not teaching a robot to walk for the first time.”

Ai just smiled, looking to Yuriko's corrections in the
dōjin
. “She's a quick learner, isn't she?”

Yuriko nodded, hesitating. “Does she … read stuff like this very often?”

“I got them for her, if that is what you are asking.” Ai paused, touching the edges of the papers. “I didn't know she had been trying to read them. Must have done it while I was recharging or something.”

Yuriko tapped on her wrist. It was after ten. She hadn't realized so much time had passed. “When was the last time you recharged?”

Ai sighed. “Well, considering Kathleen woke up at 3 AM to vomit, my last cycle was cut a little short.”

“You should power down. I'll stay here for a bit in case she needs anything.”

Ai blinked. “You wouldn't mind?”

Yuriko didn't much like that look. It was too innocent. “It would be much more trouble if you overheated or had another breakdown from too much data input.”

Ai laughed. “Well, since you insist so nicely.” She stood, making her way to the corner of the room. There she knelt, closed her eyes, and went silent. If Yuriko didn't know better, she would say Ai just looked like she was resting. Yuriko knew that it would take an emergency or a voice command from Kathleen to rouse her again.